The Enchanted Christmas Treasury – A Tale For Every Day Of Advent – Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Alison Rood
This item is two of my favourite things combined – Christmas and books!
I was thrilled to be invited to review Enchanted Christmas Treasury: A Tale For Every Day Of Advent.
Reading is a much loved past time for both myself, my husband and my 5 year old son. We read a story each night as it is a lovely way to make sure we are spending some quality, uninterrupted time together.
Each Christmas I either buy a range of short, Christmas themed books or buy one of the now popular book advent calendars.
Abigail Horne has done the hard work for me by collating 24 short(ish) stories into one handy, beautifully presented book.
The cover screams Christmas with its red and gold colouring, and Christmas themed illustrations. It is Christmassy without being brash. It is classy looking and would look lovely left out on your coffee table during the festive season.
I received a soft cover version (super soft!) but the treasury is also available in hardback which would definitely give it that more luxurious feel should you be planning to gift it to a family of book lovers (I would be thrilled to receive this as an early Christmas present!)
The 24 stories inside the book are from a array of authors, a format which I really liked. It is a great way to introduce readers to a wider range of authors, ones that they may not typically encounter. It also means that if the first story doesn’t particularly take your fancy, chances are you will enjoy the other stories that are to come.
I haven’t read the entire book (I want so savour it and enjoy it over the festive period – with twinkling lights and hot chocolate setting the scene!) but I did pick a handful of stories to read – my particular favourites from the selection were “Astrid’s Football Fairy” and “No phones allowed”
Neither sound particularly Christmassy, but like all 24 stories in the treasury, they have a nod to the magical season and all it stands for.
Towards the end is a nice inclusion of a couple of poems. I would have loved more of these scattered through the book as they are great for the nights where the little ones are a bit sleepy and not in the mood for a full on story.
Cute illustrations by Esme Talbot also break the stories up – they are a perfect addition for children that aren’t yet old enough to appreciate unillustrated books. The book is aimed at 5-8 year olds – but I honestly think my 11 year old niece would have enjoyed some of the tales too. I am 38 and enjoyed them!
A set of themes run through the stories; fun, kindness, inclusivity which makes it all the more lovely that the proceeds from the sale of this treasury will go towards helping fund the work of SENStory. SENstory helps support children with special educational needs through therapy, play and learning – it is a non profit organisation, so the donations from this book will make a real difference to them.
The book finishes on an absolute gem for Christmas Eve – no spoiler, but it is a lovely way to end a beautiful book.
“This collaborative project has been curated by Abigail Horne, founder of Authors & Co, edited by the wordsmiths from Book Forge, Deanne Adams and Hazel Hitchins, and with interior illustrations by Esme Talbot of Scruffy Little Herbert”
Rating: 5/5
The Enchanted Christmas Treasury is available to buy from Amazon, in a number of different formats
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enchanted-Christmas-Treasury-Every-Advent/dp/1915771323
RRP: £13 – £24.99 depending on which format you go for.